Best Served Cold
by Captain Space
Summary: When planet Vegeta is destroyed, the saiyan child Kakarot is sent to planet Yardrat instead of Earth. Meanwhile, King Cold assigns the Ginyu Force a mission-take out Frieza!
1. Chapter 1

**Best Served Cold**

_I hope you all enjoy the beginning of this story NinjaGin87 and I co-wrote. We each wrote two of the scenes in this chapter, so if you're familiar with either or both of our stories, and you can work out who wrote which scenes, let either of us know and we'll tell you how clever you are._

* * *

"Wake up Kakarot, it's time to destroy Yardrat."

In the Saiyan space pod a small child stirred. It was clearly weeks old, if that, and clearly agitated at being woken so rudely. The pod's front opened with a _hiss_ of pressurized air and hydraulic systems at work. The child heard the message once more, _it's time to destroy Yardrat._ it played in his head along with the messages that had been played in pod during his sleep filled trip from planet Vegeta:

_Kakarot, you are a saiyan warrior._

_Saiyans are a proud race of elite fighters._

_The Saiyans bow to no master._

_Saiyans do not win by brute force alone._

_Saiyans fight with honor, respecting fellow Saiyans._

_Saiyans outsmart enemies they can not beat._

_You are a Third Class Saiyan Warrior._

_Second Class Warriors are your superiors._

_First Class Warriors and Elite Saiyans are the leaders of Saiyan Soldiers._

And so on. Beyond words in his head, he knew not their meanings. He knew his heritage. He only felt a strong urge for conflict. Thus when strange beings came to inspect his pod, he thrashed and wailed. His flailing was taken as a sign of discomfort.

The Yardrats took pity on the young child. They believed him to be a survivor of some dead or dying race, for who else would send such a young child into space alone and in a ship made for one? Though they tried, many could not find a reason beyond that tragic fate. They believed his fierceness and wild struggles were traumatic in origin, for after opening it's hatch the computer remained silent. Programmed only to respond to Kakarot's DNA, it closed it's hatch and remained stationary as though it had served it's seemingly innocuous purpose.

For years the Yardrats had to place the child into a chamber that had no entrance or exit, only accessible via their own special teleportation ability. For as the child Kakarot grew his strength and viciousness grew. Though worried they began teaching the child common tongue by playing through educational audio and projecting video or holographic models into his room. Kakarot would rip apart any soft toys or weaker materials they gave him. but they noticed that whenever the audio and accompanying projections occurred in his room he would pause and set aside his destruction to watch and took this as a heartening sign.

What the poor inhabitants of Yardrat could not know was that the now toddler child with the strange fur cover appendage protruding from it's spine was sorting through the legacy left to him. With every new word understood he began to know what was being told to him by his earliest memories. He spoke little, using simple phrases in common as he grew older. His crushing of things turned to inspection, and the Yardrats began to interact with him personally.

By the age of five, Kakarot fully understood his mission and had a strong impression of his ancestry. However, though he was nearly as powerful as some adult natives he knew he could not prevail against them. So - following a voice in his head's advice - he controlled his power and violence, thus gaining more trust in from the natives the process.

As he slowly grew more civil, more of the peaceful race would speak to him, telling him that he held great power within and must continue to control it lest it consume him. Kakarot would feign a smile and nod, dressed in the same ridiculous clothing (as he considered it). He finally decided to put a plan into action he had been developing over the past months. An elderly looking Yardrat came to visit every fifth day to discuss his growing power and how he was "coping" with the strain of exponential growth. This time would be markedly different.

"Good day, young one." The old alien greeted the young Saiyan.

"Hello to you," Kakarot, now ten years old, wrapped his tail around his waist and say cross legged on the floor before his visitor. He knew what to say to please the old fool. And like clockwork the wrinkled weakling smiled.

"Ever so polite, you have come far in your time with us. I sense your power exceeds most of my people's."

_Now._

"How is it you are able to read my power or those around you?" Kakarot's curiosity was genuine, if his motive's were not.

Blissfully unaware of the Saiyan's intentions, the elder explained the basis of reading a person's energy, and through that their strength. He also explained it aided in recognizing if friends were in danger (here Kakarot replaced "friends" with "allies" or "fellow Saiyans") or if an attacker was too powerful to stop. He told the younger person of how it aided in their use of their signature ability: the Instant Transmission.

"The Instant Transmission allows us to lock on an energy we feel and appear at it's location. It actually allows our bodies to reach into space itself and step through what we call the "Shadow Dimension". We move throw this dimension independently of time in our dimension. It is similar to stopping time."

Throughout the interview, or interrogation to Kakarot, the Saiyan would ask leading questions and press for information. Though startled the Yardrat only could sense the curiosity burning in the fore of Kakarot's mind. Assured by this he allowed the curiosity to be sated, for they themselves were a race of learning and philosophy. They were the leaders in knowledge of space and time. This curiosity was familiar, a common ground.

_Saiyans outsmart enemies they can not beat._

* * *

One Year Later

A strangled gasp cut through the silent plain. The darkness was broken by stars alone; no light came from the deserted city a quarter mile away. A pair of shadowy figures stood close under the sea of twinkling night, almost intimately from a distance. Then one fell as the other shorter person made a sharp motion with his left arm.

"Thank you," came a hard voice. It sounded incredibly young,"without your guidance elder I would never have been able to track down your comrades. I wouldn't have been able to destroy your race."

A vicious smirk alighted the darkened face,"You gave me the means to destroy you. I lefy you for last, so you would know as you die that your species dies with you!"

The figure on the ground shuddered out a wet gurgle as it tried to speak. The shorter figure said calmly,"Thank you, I will now extend a quick death to you in gratitude."

he held out his hand, palm out, to the injured person. A ball of yellow energy appeared there, throwing the scene into a yellow filter: an old Yardrat lay with a deep wound in his chest. Clearly a lung was punctured. The short figure was clearly a young adolescent, maybe eleven or twelve. The yellow light revealed spiky, unruly black hair. The eyes were hard, and face was spotted with the green blood from the wound he'd inflicted on his mentor. His smirk widened as the glow intensified.

"Goodbye," The ball erupted into a wide beam that eveloped the dying Yardrat. Within seconds it was over: a shallow indention the only indication Kakarot had ever been there. Already he had traversed the length of the planet. The blast had barely left him before he had warped to his pod. He knew it would open, only for him had it ever opened. He had gained a great deal of knowledge from his ship: who he was, his mission, his heritage, and that his brother was on assignment not too far from here.

He activated the computer, "Take me to the nearest Saiyan in the field, program route and estimate time of arrival."

A female voice said," Nearest Saiyan - Raditz. Estimated time to location: six days."

"Excellent. Engage engine, maximum speed."

As the pod rose into the sky, the city near this part of the planet gave off a heat haze, fires visible for miles around. After all he had been a prisoner in that city for years - it was only fair it burn. As he watched the billowing clouds of smoke he thought only one thing:

_I'm coming big brother..._

**Chapter 1: TOKUSENTAI!**

Raditz gave a chuckle as his scouter processed the powerlevel of the five males before him. It clicked through several numbers before giving a beep. He gave his long mane of hair a shake as he laughed fully now. These fools combined had a powerlevel a third of his!

"Oh my! What ever am I going to do? You have me surrounded, outnumbered, and incapicitated with laughter!" He mocked them through his mirth,"You aren't even worth playing with, so consider this a gift."

He held out both palms and a pair of pinkish blasts fired out at the group, who scattered in several directions. Within a moment Raditz had phased into sight behind the closest, smashing his head in with an elbow strike. He quickly rushed another, stopping to fire a blast point blank at the fighter's abdomen. Before the body had finished falling, a ragged hole through it, he had kicked another down into the ground, forming an imprint of the body in the solid rock.

The last two were similarly dispatched: a snapped spinal cord and the other thrown off the cliff nearby and into the chasm. As he dusted off his hands his scouter beeped and said, "Incoming Saiyan pod."

"What? Can you identify the occupant?"

"Pod is in use by Saiyan Third Class Kakarot."

Raditz laughed,"Ah, little brother! He must have finished his work on Yardrat already! Estimate landing point, I'd love to see another Saiyan after all this time."

In his mind, where Frieza's men and the others couldn't hear, Raditz was thinking, _So Kakarot, we meet at last. I wonder if you look like our father or our mother like myself? I remember father telling me to look after you, always was a bit sentimental. Still, he died a warrior and I will try to honor that._

Slowly lifting off completely vertically, Raditz gained around a hundred feet of altitude before he glowed with a violet aura and took off towards the location Kakarot's ship was to land, trailing energy behind like a comet's tail.

When he touched down he found what looked like a young Bardock wearing strange clothes with dark green blotches of what appeared to be dried blood. The small figure was sitting on top of his pod with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. The brow was furrowed in a slight frown, but disappeared as he neared.

"Hello brother," Kakarot said as he launched himself off the pod. His trajectory carried him to a yard away from the taller Saiyan, but he landed lightly and faced his brother. Raditz scouter beeped as it showed Kakarot at 200.

_Not bad for a child, _Raditz thought to himself but gave a smile and said,"Welcome back, Kakarot."

* * *

"What have we got here, Captain?" Jeice asked, noticing the approaching army on the horizon.

"A rebel faction, that's all," Captain Ginyu replied. "Apparently, with their technology alone they're able to match some of our warriors—even those with power levels measuring in the thousands."

"With just technology?" Recoome scratched his head. "Impressive. Well, it doesn't matter. Let's wipe 'em out!"

"Right you are!" Ginyu nodded. "But remember, try not to damage the planet too much—Frieza's got a buyer willing to pay big time for this one. Ginyu Force—ATTACK!"

* * *

"Sir!" A rebel lieutenant reported. "Five enemy incoming!"

"Only five?" The general asked. "They must be here to negotiate, then. Distance?"

"Ten miles, closing. Er, eight. Five. Two—sir! They're right on top of us!" There was a crash from outside the command bunker, and the occupants looked outside to see an extremely odd sight. Five figures stood facing their army, having flown in and landed in a strange, almost balletic synchronised pose.

In the centre stood a short-ish soldier with red skin and white hair, one fist pumped in the air. "Jeice!" he shouted.

To the left of him was an extremely short, round figure, with gnarly green skin and four eyes, posing with one fist held up under his chin. "Guldo!"

At the back left stood a huge soldier, almost human-looking but for the fact that he was about twice the size of one—and almost as wide, due to his bodybuilder-like muscles. A red tuft of hair perched on top of his head. He stuck one hand out to the sky, facing away from the army and looking over his shoulder at them. "Recoome!"

Next to him, balanced on one foot and with his arms stretched out to his sides, was an extremely tall blue reptilian soldier. "Burter!"

At the front right crouched a purple-skinned man with horns jutting out of the sides of his head and accentuated veins all over his bald scalp. Both of his index fingers were outstretched, pointing at the ground on either side of him. "Captain Ginyu!"

All wore matching sets of armour. "And together we are—_the Ginyu Force_!" They chorused. The opposing army fell silent, utterly confused. Who were these five? Travelling performers, the enemy, or random passing idiots?

One Sergeant came to a decision. "We have our orders—nobody gets through! Dance companies included! FIRE!" A hail of bright green laser beams from his squad's weapons shot straight at the Ginyu Force, and the rest of the army followed suit. There was a huge explosion, throwing up a dust cloud that obscured their surely-destroyed enemy.

A blue blur began to stream through the army. Within seconds, hundreds of soldiers were struck with quick, efficient blows, faster than they could follow, that shattered bones, severed limbs and smashed weapons. Having worked his way through the entire front line, Burter skidded to a halt, grinning. "Good work, Burter!" Ginyu told him through the communicator built into their scouters.

"They don't call me the fastest in the universe for nothing!" Burter replied.

"Hey!" The rebel army's general strode out of the command bunker, wearing an armoured robot suit. "Over here!" _Activating shields—even with the force he used to take out all those troops with one hit each, there's no way he can penetrate this kind of armour!_ Sure enough, Burter ran straight for the war-suit, dodging all of its missiles, but painfully bounced right back off when he hit the force-field. "Oww! Recoome?"

"Gotcha!" A serious of thundering footfalls announced Recoome's charge—he barrelled into the war-suit shoulder-first, knocking it to the ground. As it stood up, Recoome punched straight through its armour, reaching inside and crushing the general's head.

"Deploy the Macro Cannon!" came the cry. Recoome swivelled around to see a gigantic artillery piece being pointed straight at him. He grinned, settling into a low, wide stance and preparing to use his signature technique. A massive emerald energy beam leapt forth from the weapon at him, and instead of trying to dodge, he just yelled, "Recoome Eraser Gun!" Another, purple, beam of energy shot out of his mouth, colliding with the Macro Cannon's beam and cutting right through it. Recoome's attack was much stronger, and it pushed right through the green beam like it wasn't there, carrying on forward and detonating on the gun itself, blasting it into oblivion, the explosion frying dozens of soldiers.

The army was in disarray—only two of the Ginyu Force had actually fought, and they were already practically in a rout. "Hey, guys!" Recoome indicated the command bunker. "Lots of 'em running in there!"

"I've got it!" Jeice announced, a red energy ball springing fully-formed out of his hand. "Crusher Ball!" he shouted, hurling it at the bunker. When it hit, the explosion was massive, instantly vapourising all the soldiers inside. Jeice smiled. "Looks like we've got—hey, one of 'em survived!" He jumped over to an injured enemy Colonel, who was picking herself up. "You gonna surrender, then?"

"Heh." She held up a small object. "Actually, we were prepared for this. Really, this was the solution in case Frieza himself decided to attack, but it'll do here!"

"And this 'solution' is?" Jeice raised an eyebrow.

She brandished the object—a small box with a large red button and an antenna, almost like something out of a cartoon (which could be said about the Ginyu Force themselves). "We've got a _very_ powerful bomb at the core of the planet. If you don't leave us in peace—right now—I'll blow it up! Mutually assured destruction!" She smiled. "It doesn't matter how fast you are—you can't stop me pressing this button. As the designated bearer, I've got a personal force-field. It'll take you a few hits to get through it, and by then it'll all be over." They couldn't know, of course, that if they had used this on Frieza, the tyrant would have been completely unaffected by the planet's explosion—the Ginyu Force were another matter, though.

"You wouldn't do that!" Jeice protested. "You can't be that crazy!"

Her finger hovered over the button. "Try me." The entire world seemed to flicker, and the box was no longer in her hand. "Wha—?"

"Looking for this?" Guldo, standing behind her, held up the box for all to see, then dropped it to the ground and smashed it beneath his heel. "Who needs speed, when you can stop time and move instantly?"

"You…you're monsters!" she gasped, backing away and drawing her pistol. She went to pull the trigger, but found she couldn't move. Guldo was holding up one hand, palm outwards, holding her in place. "I may not be a great fighter like these other four…but my psychic powers are unrivalled in all the universe! Now, just a second…" He raised his other hand, using telekinesis to lift a boulder out of the ground. It smashed into the colonel, knocking her to the ground, where she lay limply. "And that's that," Guldo said.

"Nice one!" Jeice told him, giving his comrade a thumbs-up. "Have to admit, I was a little worried for a moment there…"

The fleeing army stopped in its tracks. The four seemingly-invincible warriors were behind them, prompting the retreat, but now in front stood the fifth—Captain Ginyu, standing with his arms crossed, smiling cruelly. "Now, don't go anywhere just yet!" His smile widened. "This party's only just getting started…"

* * *

A round ship was in orbit around a planet where flashes had been seen mere moments before. Within that ship a shadowy form stood on a bridge where dozens of men in armor worked furiously at monitors around him.

_What insignificant mongrels. Do they even realize how fortunate they are? I, the mighty King Cold, the ruler of the largest galactic empire and most powerful being alive have need for their planet. If they chose to die instead of pledging allegiance to me, well, then they deserve death._

A massive tail flicked up and settled lightly on the shadowy figure's opposite side. He stepped into the light as a series of beeps came from one of the terminals. "What is it?"

The violet alien working the console sweated slighted, like most of the tyrant's soldiers did when addressed directly by the deep voiced Frost Demon. "Sir, we are receiving a transmission from the soldiers planetside. It appears the Ginyu Force has exterminated the opposing army."

A swish of the tail, a sign of agitation,"I expected this much, now tell me what they want!" The tail thudded louder on the floor, causing several of the technicians to wince.

"Well your Highness, the Ginyu's are asking for coordinates to their next mission Sire."

The fear was thick in the voice of the comm director as he spoke. It was fear Cold bathed in and loved. He knew only one who did not fear or even respect his rule and power.

Maybe it was time for that to change...

"Tell them to report to me directly. I have a special assignment for them."

The terrified tech immediately complied, and none saw the smirk form on Cold's face as he stepped into the light directly. It was taboo to gaze upon him without being first addressed unless summoned.

_My little rebel_, he thought as his gaze became sinister, _you shall reap all of your renegade's reward. Did you honestly think I wouldn't know? Did you believe I would allow your indiscretions to pass as you carry my blood? No, I shall make you a message, and you will be a shadow of doubt in all minds when they seek to claim a title that I already wear._

* * *

"All right men!" Captain Ginyu barked out, his fists on his hips as he stared at his men," King Cold has asked us to be in his presence for a special briefing. You are aware of what that means?"

The red skinned Jeice immediately thrust his fist in the air,"We gotta pull out our best stuff! Class and style Cap'n!"

The other three in line shoulder to shoulder with Jeice gave a cheer of agreement as Ginyu closed his eyes with a smile. "That's right, our very best. The ruler of the universe is going to be the ultimate audience! Recoome, Burter!" The two straightened and stepped forward."Give me your newest forms!"

Recoome stepped forward first, and displaying an agility that belied his size, quickly raised his left knee before throwing both arms straight up over his head. He then lashed out with his raised foot, sinultaneously bringing his arms to waist height. He tucked his right arm in and clenched the fist while the left went out at the shoulder in a slight incline, off set by the sliding crouch look he had assumed. He had his right knee bent and the left stretched out far past his shoulder. Hw finished by shouting "Recoome!"

"Excellent, Excellent work Recoome! Burter, show me that speed!" Ginyu was nodding enthusiastically before pointing at Burter, a light glinting off the green scouter screen over his eye.

Burter ran in place, his legs blurring as he pumped his arms as though running. He suddenly pivoted, and vanished only to appear next to Recoome with his back to Ginyu, his full height on display as he stretched both arms at a slight angle, offset to his teammates and their fingertips less than inch from each other. "Burter!"

"That'll do Burter. Guldo? Jeice?" He gave a nod to them.

Guldo swung his arms up as he knelt, and from one knee he curved his wrists so his hands looked like pincers. Jeice leapt into the air, rotating his body as he flipped. He landed en pointe on his left foot with his right leg making a right triangle against his left. His left arm crossed his chest while he raised arm straight up over his head.

"Guldo!"

"Jeice!"

"All of us together are..."

Captain Ginyu jumped into the center, miming the same position as Jeice but inverted.

"The Ginyu Force!"

* * *

King Cold stared at the elite soldiers before him, long having accepted his men's eccentricities, with a faint smile.

"Very inspirational as usual, Ginyu." It helped that he knew both his sons despised the poses. He had considered creating a mandate they must create a dance for every successful mission. With that wicked thought in mind he continued in more serious tones,"Now, let us get straight to the heart of your assignment."

"It has come to my attention that Frieza has been making moves to expand his own influence." He paused, his tail curling in front of him." I would applaud this but for one detail; it's my territory he's exploiting!" The tail swung back, denting the metal of the wall with the force of his anger. "Such insolence and treason shall be dealt with, but it is the patient hand that strikes when the time is ripe. That is your mission. You are already assigned to Frieza as his personal guard...as favoured a position as Cooler's Armored Squadron. You are to use any means at your disposal to assassinate Frieza. After gaining his trust like you have, this should not present too much of a problem." An idea struck him. "Try recruiting the Saiyans. They are fair fighters, and are known to resent Frieza's rule. Perhaps a good distraction for you to accomplish your goals..."

* * *

Vegeta stormed out of the chamber, three other saiyans trailing behind him. "You fools!" he growled. "Are you trying to get us all killed?"

The four—last survivors of their warrior race—made a strange group: the prince Vegeta, hair standing straight up almost a foot from his head and partially making up for his height, sporting a regal blue jumpsuit beneath his armour and a chip in his shoulder so deep some people suspected he was in danger of falling in half; Nappa, the largest, a true giant of a man, bald and with a thin moustache; Raditz, a tall warrior with hair extending down to his waist and wearing red bands on his left arm and leg; and his younger brother Kakarot, a half-smile continuously edging onto his face and an untidy mop atop his head.

"Are you just going to keep letting Frieza walk all over you like that?!" Raditz demanded.

"Yeah, you should've let us at them!" Nappa agreed.

Kakarot pouted. "Didn't even get a shot at Dodoria…"

"_Silence_!" Vegeta snapped. "Do you even realise what you're saying? Do you think I _enjoy_ living in slavery and singing that worm's praises? I hate Frieza as much as you do—more! But as we are, we're no match for him! Do you understand?" The trio looked downcast as Vegeta's rant continued. "Make no mistakes, I _will_ destroy him one day. But not now. We aren't ready. We'll get stronger—as always. One day, we'll return and it'll be Frieza kneeling before _me_." His eyes narrowed. "Jeopardise my shot at revenge for even a moment, and I'll kill you myself." A low beep issued from his scouter, and he pressed the button on the side to receive the incoming message. "Who is this?"

"This is an encrypted channel," came an all-too-familiar voice.

"G-Ginyu? What the hell do _you_ want?!" _An encrypted channel?_ The prince wondered. _He doesn't want Frieza to hear…why not?_

"Go to planet Frieza 62 immediately. We'll be there in 24 hours." The line went dead.

"What was it?" Nappa asked.

Vegeta shrugged. "Captain Ginyu, of all people. Wants us to go to planet Frieza 62."

"Are we going?"

"Well…for whatever reason, he didn't want Frieza to know about it. That intrigues me, so…it's worth investigating."

The Ginyu Force, assembled in all their 'glory', stood at the ready as the four attack pods touched down on the isolated outpost—the only inhabitable location on planet Frieza 62, a completely unremarkable lump of rock, located slightly to the left of the middle of nowhere. It had, in fact, been chosen for that exact reason.

* * *

"All right, why are we here?" Vegeta demanded, striding out of his pod, Nappa, Kakarot and Raditz close behind. Despite their best attempt to put on an ordered appearance, the saiyans still gave out an air of wild, untamed menace—something primal that had never been fully civilised. Ginyu noticed with some amusement the contrast with his flawlessly-drilled, elite squad as he replied. "You are here, Vegeta, because I told you to come here."

A vein throbbed on the prince's forehead—Ginyu knew exactly which buttons to push. "Don't toy with me, Ginyu! Now tell me why you dragged us out here before I lose my patience—I could be standing knee-deep in the blood of my enemies right now, and you'd better have a damn good reason for keeping me away from that!"

"Temper, temper," Ginyu cautioned. "One should not speak that way to one's superiors."

"I'll show you who's superior!" Vegeta growled. "Go on, try me! We can handle you any day."

Ginyu chuckled. "Ah…You are referring to a battle? The galaxy's most elite soldiers versus the last of a great race of warriors…indeed, perhaps if you employed that artificial moon technique you're so proud of mastering, the outcome might not even be certain. But please, let us be civilised. Not everything has to be a fight. Of course…" he grinned. "If it's violence you so desperately desire, then trust me—you won't be disappointed."

"Violence?" Kakarot's face lit up. "Where? Do we get to hit somebody?" Raditz punched his shoulder. "Shut your mouth, idiot!" He knew by now how his younger brother's normally-decent intelligence would slip away at the mere suggestion of a fight.

Vegeta shook his head at the low-class warrior's antics, forcing himself to be civil. "Continue, Ginyu."

"It's not unknown that you and your kin harbour some…resentment towards Frieza."

"For the whole 'enslavement and constant threat of sudden death' thing?" Vegeta scowled. "Who'd have guessed?"

Ginyu nodded. "Yes, indeed. Well…you're not the only one."

_The encrypted channel…the remote meeting-place… _Vegeta's eyes widened. "You don't mean—"

"Oh, but I do." Ginyu snapped his fingers. "Jeice! The mission briefing!"

Jeice saluted, somehow stood even more to attention than before, and spoke. "The elimination, assassination, removal and otherwise preferably-violent murder of the tyrant Frieza! With an addendum, _your highness_," the title added with sarcasm (if the saiyans didn't utilise their ability to transform, no member of the Ginyu Force had anything to fear from them), "to eliminate, assassinate, remove and otherwise preferably-violently murder any approached potential operatives who choose to continue in their loyalty to Frieza!" His salute disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"Hmm…" Vegeta weighed this up. Was it a trick—Frieza rooting out potential traitors? Ginyu was renowned as extremely loyal to his master, after all. But such an elaborate ruse seemed beyond Frieza's capacity—not to mention, frankly, a waste of time for a supposedly invincible being. He noticed Ginyu's outstretched hand, smiled and shook it firmly. "All right, Ginyu. Let's kill us an overgrown worm."

* * *

As they walked together towards the Ginyu Force's field HQ on the planet, Ginyu congratulated himself. _His Majesty King Cold's choice of allies was, as expected, perfect. The saiyans' hatred for Frieza overrides any suspicions they might have—and they will make formidable allies. It is lucky they do not doubt me, though—I'd have doubted it myself, but of course there is only one loyalty that lies higher within my mind than my allegiance to Lord Frieza…only his father is higher. Fitting, of course—who should the universe's greatest soldier serve but its ruler?_ He was especially happy that the saiyans had bought the 'rebellion' angle—King Cold's mere existence was a closely-guarded secret, and even at the cost of the mission and his life he was to let no-one learn of it. As far as the common people were concerned, Frieza was their ruler, and Cold was free to operate in the shadows.

_Yes,_ thought Ginyu, _today could not have gone better. Frieza—your days are numbered…_


	2. Chapter 2: A Plan Comes Together

**Chapter 2: A Plan Comes Together  
**

The field HQ was pretty empty, since at most it was a staging station for their operations in this sector. Frieza hadn't even bothered making a station on the barren planet. The fact it was bare of resources coupled with its location made it unnaturally unusable. There were no guards on the chunk of dead rock. Besides, the Ginyu Force were among the elites in the universe. They needed no guards. When Vegeta considered the nature of the endeavour they had just agreed to, he grudgingly admitted he would have probably elected this piece of junk planet as well.

The rounded building was the same reddish brown as the rest of the ground. Kakarot barely had stepped out of his pod when he heard Raditz whistle derisively, "this is the most pathetic excuse for a field base I've ever seen."

"Well what, exactly, did you expect, Raditz? That the Ginyu Force would want to talk mutiny in front of a horde of his underlings?" Vegeta scoffed. He led the way into the building. The Saiyans used their scouters to find their unlikely allies, who were all in a room that turned out to be some sort of briefing area.

The Saiyans had claimed one end of the long table in the briefing room they sat in. Vegeta at the head of the table, a slight frown on his face, was flanked by Nappa on his left and the sons of Bardock to his right. Nappa was doing an impressive job of making everything appear child-sized with his massive bulk. Raditz, who was closest to Vegeta, was watching the Ginyu force closely. Kakarot appeared enthralled with tilting his chair back on two legs. He eventually propped his booted feet on the table with a sigh as he stretched. He then folded his arms behind his head.

"Comfortable, Vegeta?" Ginyu asked with a smirk.

"Just get on with it Ginyu, I'm not fond of waiting around." Vegeta snapped angrily.

"Very well." The entire Ginyu Force had been standing at parade rest, Jeice and Burter on Ginyu's right, Recoome and Guldo on the left. The other members of the team sat on either side of the end position. Ginyu remained standing. He pressed a button on the console built into the wall. "I think it's time for a little history lesson men. Let's see the footage from Cooler's ship of the day planet Vegeta was destroyed."

"Why would we want to watch our planet being blown apart by a comet?" Raditz snarled.

Recoome laughed, he just couldn't help it! These Saiyans were dumber than he thought. Ginyu waved his arm at him and he quieted down, a smile still lingering.

Ginyu then said, "Watch and see,"

"Tch, whatever. Just get on with it!" Vegeta levelled a hard glare at Raditz, who fell silent.

The room darkened and the display showed the view from space as the insect-like ship Frieza was known for using was stationed above a planet that looked incredibly familiar to three of the four saiyans.

"But that's!" Nappa was silenced with a glance from Vegeta, and the huge man looked on in disbelief as the footage showed a group descending from the ship. Hordes of alien fighters were descending on something. One warrior suddenly plowed into the group. For a moment it appeared the lone person had been overwhelmed, but a sudden blue glow showed through the mass of bodies before they were blown away and the man made it through them. It appeared to be trying to reach Frieza's round ship.

The video had zeroed in on Frieza, who was in his hover-chair. Dodoria, his spike-skinned lieutenant, floated next to him. The attacker came into the shot now, breathing raggedly. He shouted something, his face bleeding. Though there was no audio able to travel through the thin upper atmosphere, the video zoomed in on a face that greatly resembled one present.

Raditz nudged his brother, causing Kakarot to gaze a bit more intensely at the screen. In the display, Bardock—who appeared an older variant of the teen Saiyan—launched a blue blast of energy at the hovering tyrant. Frieza laughed as he launched a massive ball of energy that obliterated the smaller blast before carrying the entire group of warriors down to the planet. As the impact and consequent destruction of Vegeta at Frieza hands the screen magnified on the Frost Demon's maniacal laughter.

Ginyu noticed the clenched fists of Vegeta, Raditz, and Nappa. He had to keep himself from laughing at the unbridled bloodlust emanating from the Saiyans. He certainly had their attention. " As you can see, gentlemen," he started," the rumoured comet didn't strike the planet down. I wanted to give you a true account and reason for your little rebellion."

_Ha_, Guldo thought savagely, _that arrogant primate Vegeta is finally getting a dose of the truth! Frieza kept him as a source of amusement, not because the barbaric ape had any real power!_

_What a bunch of idiots, believing that story! Those Saiyans are as dense as they come! _Jeice smugly thought.

_Almost feel bad for these pathetic losers, even if they brought it on themselves. _Burter thought with a touch of disdain for the displaced Warrior Race.

Recoome merely widened his grin. The blasting of the one that was clearly the youngest Saiyan's father had been enough to make the laughing stock pay attention.

He loved causing pain.

After a few seconds Vegeta's gloved fist unclenched. _This merely confirms my suspicions. It proves Frieza deserves death, and I'll use whatever and whoever I can to achieve it!_

_That bastard Frieza double-crossed us after all that the Saiyan race did for him! I'll crush him! _Nappa grit his teeth, a few veins popping on his large head.

_Father_... Raditz thought, _you were a true warrior. You faced down and spat in the face of a monster of terrifying power. I'll make sure it didn't happen in vain! I'll avenge you!_

_So, my father died fighting him. That's so cool... _Kakarot sat up straighter, his eyes hardening_. I'll surpass every challenge that he faced and destroy that monster!_

Vegeta broke the silence first, his anger contained, focused, "Well well, the terrible Frieza really was afraid of us. Though now he has a greater problem." His eyes cut to Ginyu, now seated across from him. "I think we should move slowly. While we do have nine powerful warriors," he seemed a bit reluctant to admit that much, "we still need to chip away the more powerful of Frieza's minions. Dodoria and Zarbon will need to be dealt with first."

Ginyu nodded, "We need the opportunity to face them down separately. If they both were to die together Frieza would undoubtedly grow suspicious."

Kakarot lit up. "Hey, what about that Kool-Aid guy? Could we ask him for help?"

There was a thud followed by a loud "Owww!" as Raditz automatically punched the back of his head. "I believe he means Cooler," he said calmly as Kakarot face-planted into the table.

Vegeta grunted. "Truthfully, I want to know if there is a way to set them against each other. I mean," he gave a feral smile, "if the two pound each other to a bloody pulp we can finish Frieza easily."

Ginyu nodded speculatively. If it appeared Cooler was going to lose, they could always use the element of surprise to save him and finish off Frieza. Maybe the plan might work. It was a stretch.

"Captain, I know Salza and Zarbon sometimes meet to share information, if we arrange for Cui or even Dodoria, to find out Zarbon could be seen as a spy for Cooler. If we arrange for Salza to escape to with that bit of false information it may get Cooler involved." Jeice spoke for the first time since…the Saiyans shuddered in the memory of warriors prancing about.

Ginyu smiled, "Say, Jeice, Why don't we just kill Zarbon and frame Salza? If Salza is attacked then Cooler would likely come as well."

Vegeta scoffed. All heads turned to him. "You are thinking too narrowly. We," he swept his arm to indicate himself and the three other Saiyans," are rather capable of handling Zarbon and Dodoria simultaneously. Nappa alone could rip them to shreds after transforming. Last I checked his power level topped out at around twice Dodoria's. Zarbon is the same, maybe slightly more powerful."

Recoome gave a grunt. That made him the lesser of the two brutes at full power. He wasn't too worried, though. Nappa may be the same size as him, but without the moon he was as much stronger than the bald behemoth as Nappa was Frieza's lieutenants. "You guys aren't planning a straight assault? Even with the moon you would be torn apart. Frieza'd just wipe out the world you were fighting on."

Vegeta laughed loudly, fists clenched on the table. "Oh, you're so clever! Glad to see the brilliant Ginyu Force is so tactical!" He shook his head, still chuckling. Recoome and Guldo frowned at him. "What I am getting at is that our Oozaru forms are ten times greater. Add to that we grow stronger after every battle, well," he grinned viciously, "we will only get stronger. And we have a few tricks of our own. You aren't the only freaks with powers."

Kakarot gave a cheery wave and smile at that, his expression almost unconcerned. He knew Vegeta was referring to his Instant Transmission technique. He was already thinking about teaching his brother the move. Saiyans were remarkably adept at picking up and learning fighting skills. He could see a move and replicate it if he saw it once. His own powers had grown fairly quickly under the Saiyan training schedule, or as he thought of it: whack stuff 'til it stopped moving, heal, repeat. But even so, he was still at a loss to Vegeta's Artificial Moon technique. It made them all incredibly destructive. After he had learned to control his form with Raditz help Kakarot sometimes felt invincible. In truth they all made a very dangerous team.

Burter gave a cough and smirked. "Why don't we put your claims to the test, Vegeta?"

Nappa growled threateningly, but Kakarot and Raditz looked a bit intrigued. "What do you have in mind, Burter?" Vegeta asked, his eyes narrowing.

Burter shrugged, "Try calling for Dodoria as backup, then take him out. I know you're scheduled to exterminate the inhabitants of Frieza Planet 263. After all, the insurgency of anti-Frieza forces are rumoured to be coming from there." In actuality, Frieza Planet 263 was a part of Cold's territory. "They have average power levels of 2,500. That's more than those two together. I've heard some are even around 20,000."

Raditza and Kakrot shared a look, but said nothing. Vegeta was talking, better to let him handle it.

And handle it he did. "Psh," he gave a withering look to Burter, clearly scornful. "It could work. Just don't underestimate the Saiyan race!" his disdain replaced by a confident smile. "We grow powerful far faster than you'd think, blue boy."

Burter gave a hiss, but Jeice gave a short pat on his shoulder. "Easy, mate. Remember—we're on the same side now."

Raditz gave a laugh. "I think we should take the challenge, Vegeta. They'd get a pretty good idea of our power, and we would be able to reap the benefits anyway." Saiyan physiology would make them even stronger, maybe strong enough to take down the Ginyus if push came to shove.

Kakarot nodded, and Nappa said loudly, "This'll teach them what it means to mess with the Saiyans!"

Ginyu hmm'ed, then said, "Is that agreeable with you? It'll get Dodoria out of the way and would prove you're serious."

Vegeta stood up, crossed his arms, and turned to leave. "We'll take Dodoria, you figure out how to isolate Zarbon." _Though I wouldn't be too surprised if you found a way to mess up such a simple task..._

* * *

"So, what d'you think of the plan?" Nappa asked Vegeta.

"What do _I_ think?" Vegeta snorted. "You ever try thinking for yourself? Or is that something else I have to do for you?"

"Uh...whenever I try thinking for myself, you tell me to shut up and do what I'm told..." Nappa pointed out.

"Stop being difficult!" the prince snapped, stomping off.

Raditz and Kakarot trailed behind their 'fearless leader' and his main henchman. "All right! So all I have to do is kick Frieza's ass, yeah?" Kakarot asked, pounding his fist into his other hand.

Raditz groaned. "No. No, that is the one thing you absolutely are _not _to try and do, ever. You can't fight Frieza. Nobody can, all right?"

Kakarot pouted. "I can try."

"And fail."

"All right, let's move out." Vegeta opened his one-man pod, climbing in and tapping in a set of co-ordinates. "We don't have much time before the delay stars to appear suspicious—remember, officially, we were never here. Got that?"

"Right." Nappa was second into his ship, followed by Raditz.

"But...we _were_ here..." Kakarot muttered as he brought up the rear, pressing the button to close the hatch on his pod as the ignition kicked in.

Raditz shook his head in disbelief, sighing. "Just try not to think too hard about it, all right? Save yourself some effort." With that, the four pods, carrying the saiyans, lifted off into the atmosphere, reaching the vacuum of space in a matter of seconds and arcing away into the void.

* * *

"Hmph!" Recoome grumbled, a few seconds after the saiyans left. "Do we really need those clowns?"

"Of course!" Captain Ginyu replied with a sly grin. "The more the merrier, they say...it will be heplful to have allies in this most dangerous of missions, no?"

"Well, yeah, but those guys? C'mon!" Burter waved a dismissive hand. "They're so much weaker than us...what difference will they make? I could take all of 'em at once!"

Jeice shook his head. "Idiot. Don't forget their transformation. A saiyan that becomes an Oozarus increases their power level tenfold!"

"Oh...right..." Burter shrugged. "But still, it's only on the full moon. How often is _that_ useful?"

"You'd be surprised," Guldo muttered, remembering the scenes of devastation he'd seen in the aftermath of an Oozaru rampage.

"If I might bring things back on track..." Ginyu suggested, and the squad turned to listen to their leader. "Let us not forget the possibility of our little rebellion being discovered. If so, we can hopefully engineer it so that the saiyans, and not us, take the fall."

"Right..." Jeice nodded appreciatively. "I see. It'll be easy to convince Frieza it was just them—everyone knows they hate him."

"Exactly." With a self-satisfied smile, Ginyu pointed into the air. "Now—GINYU FORCE! MOVE OUT!"

Leaping and pirouetting about like drunken dancers, they did.


	3. Chapter 3: Engagement

**Best Served Cold Chapter 3: Engagement**

**_Q: _**_I really like this idea and can't wait to see how you excecute it. Also when do you plan on continuing it and if there is a schedule ?_

_**A: **It is said that once every hundred thousand years, when the stars and planets align, when a blue moon is seen in the sky, a two-headed goat is born in Syria, and the sun shines directly through Stonehenge during the_ winter _solstice (which is probably something to do with global warming or something)_,_ revealing the hidden secrets of the ancients..._

_...Best Served Cold updates._

* * *

Frieza planet 263 was pleasant during the day, but now—after sundown—it was practically frozen. The atmosphere was thin, and huge clusters stars were clearly visible from the ground, far more than on most planets.

Raditz shivered. "When the hell is that pink slob going to get here?"

Kakarot, pacing uneasily back and forth, echoed his concerns. "I wanna _fight _already!"

Nappa sat calmly on a rock with his back to the brothers. "Quiet, now." He knew his prince's patience would wear thin at too much more complaining. Sure enough, Vegeta breathed a sigh of relief as the two lower-class saiyans stopped talking, closed his eyes and drifted back into his thoughts.

He'd reviewed as much footage of Dodoria in action as possible on the way here, and was planning out the battle in advance; every move and counter-move, possible lines of attack. Of course, there was always the Oozaru fallback, but that could be negated (not that it seemed likely Dodoria would have the brains to figure out how) and besides, Vegeta wanted to try fighting in his normal form first, even knowing his power level was several thousand units lower than his enemy's—call it bravery, pride, arrogance or just plain stupidity, he had to try.

"Hey, Vegeta." Nappa broke the silence, standing up. "If we can't win without transforming...who gets to do the honours? This isn't a one-man show."

"It's true..." Vegeta nodded. "You can have him if it comes to that, Nappa. I'm not interested in squashing a bug who I outclass by nearly one hundred times." Nappa shuddered at the reminder of the prince's awesome power upon assuming his giant form.

"Now hold on a second!" Raditz protested. "Don't we get a say in this?"

"As a matter of fact, you don't," Vegeta snapped.

"But why—"

"Because your baby brother's still learning to control the Oozaru, and as for you, Raditz, your power is so pathetic that even if you transformed, Dodoria would still be able to defeat you."

Raditz scowled. "And I'm always the one you pick on, aren't I?"

"Of course you are! You don't train hard enough. Hell, we can grow _plants _as strong as you, Raditz. Plants!"

Raditz sighed—the jab wasn't entirely untrue. While he'd improved a little since then, the last time he'd been tested, he'd barely been a match for one of the genetically-engineered Saibamen, whereas Vegeta had been able to take down five at once even years ago, when he was only a child. _But... _Raditz decided. _I will get stronger...I will be a true saiyan warrior, one day! I'll make you proud...father..._

"He's here..." Kakarot said quietly.

Vegeta snorted. "How the hell could you know—" Four scouters beeped in unison. Vegeta stared at Kakarot, uncomprehending, and shook his head. No time now. He breathed in deeply. "All right, then. Time to go to work..." He produced a pure-white energy ball from one hand, hurling it over the horizon. "I've set up the artificial moon over in that direction. If you need to transform, head for it—and Kakarot, stay away. I don't trust you in that form." He turned as a light impact signalled Dodoria landing.

"What is this?" Dodoria growled. He was only about Vegeta's height, but was about as wide as he was tall, and the pink coloration of his skin looked slightly less comedic accompanied as it was by his natural arm and head spikes, and his imposing armour served to add to his already-impressive size. "I'm only picking up four life signs on this whole mudball. Did you call me all the way out here for nothing? Assistance required, my ass..."

Nappa nodded to Raditz, who tapped a button on a small device in his hand. _Interstellar communications jammed, _the screen displayed. No word of this would get to Frieza.

"Oh, not for nothing," Vegeta said, grinning. "I was just finishing off the last of this planet's natives and I thought, you know what would complete my day? Tearing out Dodoria's eyes and feeding them to him."

Dodoria's eyes narrowed. "That's fighting talk..."

"That it is."

* * *

Captain Ginyu leaned back from his monitor. "They've engaged Dodoria," he said slowly.

"D'you think they'll win?" Jeice asked, tapping his fingers idly on the table.

"Does it matter?" Recoome sneered. "We don't need 'em."

"Yeah, hopefully they'll kill each other and we can just write the whole incident off to Frieza as a failed revolt," Burter agreed.

"Now, that isn't true and you know it," Ginyu chided. "They're quite the valuable asset, these saiyans. Now: Zarbon." He steepled his fingers. "Talk to me, boys."

"We can take him in a straight up fight," Recoome said. "One-on-one, even he's no match for any one of us."

Guldo nodded. "The problem is that if Zarbon and Dodoria both go 'missing' within a short time of each other, Frieza's going to get suspicious."

"The list of people who can take those two down isn't very long," Jeice added. "And we're going to be right near the top of that list."

"Exactly. All points well made." Ginyu smiled. "So. We cannot kill Zarbon. We cannot arrange for him to die, even. We cannot allow Frieza to suspect that someone is picking off his closest operatives, while the feared Ginyu Force remain alive and untouched—very suspicious, no?" He paused, ensuring they were all taking this in. "So, gentlemen. If Zarbon is to die, Frieza must do it himself. Then, he will have no-one to blame."

"But Captain, didn't you say earlier we should just kill Zarbon and frame Salza?" Recoome asked.

"That I did, that I did. But that was for the saiyans' benefit. It was a drastic oversimplification, to stop their little brains from struggling to comprehend the full complexity of our plan."

"Well, that's all well and good..." Jeice said. "...But if Frieza has to do it himself, we've got to frame Zarbon. Not easy. He's a sharp one."

"Quite so," Ginyu agreed. "Any suggestions?"

A sly smile began to spread over Guldo's face. "I think I've got something..."

* * *

Dodoria sneered at Vegeta, his fists clenched. He jabbed his scouter's controls and took measure of Vegeta's strength. After the numbers quit scrolling it beeped and he burst out laughing. "18,000? You call me out here to a dead planet to challenge me and all you've got is 18,000 units? Have you forgotten my power level Vegeta?"

Vegeta simply smirked. "If you're so much stronger than me come prove it!" He rocketed forward, cracking the ground as a purple aura flashed to life around him. He needed to surprise Dodoria, get him mad. If he could get him angry he'd start blasting away his energy in an attempt for a one shot victory. Of course it helped that Dodoria was more thug than fighter.

Vegeta's charge caused Dodoria to start, but not knock him off his guard. The bulky henchman swung his heavy fist forward, aiming to catch the back of the traitorous Prince's head. At the last minute Vegeta flipped his upper half down towards the ground. Dodoria's fist followed behind, not touching even a hair of Vegeta. The leader of the Saiyans then finished the somersault, smashing both feet hard into Dodoria's head over his extended left arm and staggering the bigger man.

"What's the matter chubby? Can't keep up?" Vegeta laughed cruelly as he stood upright, looking as though he hadn't a care in the world. He folded his arms as Dodoria regained his balance.

"Lucky shot, you mouthy runt." Dodoria glowered at Vegeta, a vein throbbing in his forehead as Vegeta winded down from laughter to chuckles.

"Oh my," Vegeta mocked, "you wound me Dodoria. Allow me to return the favour!" He lunged again, but this time Dodoria was ready. Vegeta's fist connected with one of the spiky forearms. The two began to exchange blows, with Vegeta releasing a torrent of insults along the way.

When Vegeta sidestepped a kick, "Were you always this fat or did you gain it after Frieza was through with you, freak? Come on! Show me that greater power of yours Dodoria!" He grunted as his knee collided with one of those protrusions on his opponents arm. They actually hurt a lot and Vegeta suspected they might be bony spines. He took a hard punch to the cheek that launched him towards the artificial moon. He growled mentally. _Not yet! He'll probably try and rush after me to follow up. Let's see how he likes this!_

He straightened in the air and fired a barrage of purple blasts that caught Dodoria point-blank. The surprised expression on Dodoria's face was enveloped in an explosion and cloud of smoke. Vegeta floated down to land gently on the ground. The smoke concealed Dodoria from sight. As he was about to check his scouter a massive pink beam of energy flashed towards him, splitting the smoke.

_That's more like it! A little more and he'll snap_. Vegeta smirked as he calmly vanished, reappearing three feet to the left of a trench carved into the ground by Dodoria's enraged attack. He stood there as the pink explosion silhouetted his outline. A roar of outrage came from the now visible alien warrior. The ground had been blasted out from under him, and he was floating over a series of craters. His face stretched and mouth wide from the large blast he seemed to have fired from it. He glowered at the Saiyan prince with deepest loathing.

"Why can't I kill you?! I'm far stronger than you, I'm stronger than all of you!" Dodoria raged, energy radiating off of him distorting the air like a heat haze. Look at that arrogant primate, standing there as though he has nothing to worry about. _He's driving me insane!_ Dodoria suddenly straightened, a thought occurring to him. He laughed aloud as he stared across at Vegeta with a look of brutish cunning. "You think you're so clever. Did you think I wouldn't figure it out?"

Vegeta growled, "Damn him! He knows!" He spat sideways and grinned, "All right then, try this on for size!" His gloved hands glowed as he gathered his ki.

Dodoria tapped his scouter as he watched, the green screen displayed Vegeta's fighting power increasing from 18,000. The yellow numbers rose steadily from 18,500 to 19,000. "Not bad Vegeta, not bad." He gave a wicked smile as Vegeta thrust his hands forward with a cry. His scouter beeped as it registered 20,000.

"Grrrrraaaaaaaaahhhhh!" Vegeta's violet energy pulsed out around him in a dome that tinged him with its intense colours before a section of it blasted out in a wave at Dodoria. Frieza's left hand man gave no reaction as the massive energy ball at the head of the stream from the Saiyan drew nearer. With a yell of his own Dodoria swung his massive right leg up, channelling his energy into his shin. The head of the beam of energy struck his shin, seemed to bend around it before he gave an almighty grunt and punted it away.

_Damn! That actually hurt!_ Dodoria mentally groaned while outwardly smirking, his leg smoking slightly from the impact. He watched with no small amount of satisfaction the look of utter disbelief on Vegeta's face. Even his fellow Saiyans seemed unnerved. Nappa turned tail and fled away entirely. _Pathetic, _Dodoria sneered mentally as he watched the large man flying off with his aura leaving a long trail behind him. "Well Vegeta, looks like your bald buddy has more sense than you do. Tell me," Dodoria said, voice dripping with malice, "are you afraid too? Will you run away? Because even if you survive this Frieza is gonna torture you to a nice, slow, agonizing death."

Vegeta seemed to shake himself at Dodoria's words. He glowered at the large pink alien, "Shut up freak! I am an elite; the Saiyan Prince! I run from no challenge! After I crush you under my boot Frieza is next!"

The two glared, momentarily suspended as a dry wind blew across the ruined landscape. As one they shot forward. Vegeta's fist flashed by Dodoria's cheek, the knuckle drawing purple blood that oozed from a thin gash. Dodoria retaliated with a savage knee strike to the abdomen. Vegeta blocked it with his own knee, but felt as though he were loosing ground—a feeling punctuated by the pink fist that slammed into his jaw. His head snapped to the side, but before he could reorient himself Dodoria smashed his other fist into Vegeta's chest, sending him rocketing back. He rolled across the barren ground until he smashed into a rock formation. He struck with such force that the rock cracked behind him, crumbling to dust and leaving him on his back. He grunted, spat a bit of blood.

_That pink bastard is still stronger than I am. I'll have to try and predict his fighting style. I know how he fights. I can defeat him!_ Vegeta flipped himself back to his feet only to find Dodoria standing there.

"Took you long enough, _your highness._" Vegeta scowled, and the two blurred back into the fight. Shockwaves shook the ground, the pair travelling faster than Raditz or Kakarot could follow.

"Vegeta stands no chance at this rate." Raditz said conversationally, his eyes focusing on the readings his scouter was reporting. Vegeta's values fluctuated wildly as the fighting continued, ranging from as high as 20,000 when he had time to draw up his energy to as low as 17,000 when he was fighting close quarters.

It seems like Vegeta excels with long range power attacks," Kakarot added, strangely focused and lacking that whimsical humour that defined him outside battle. He felt his prince's power and desperation as the fight continued. "Looks like Dodoria knows that too." He felt the hulking fighter's ki was starting to weaken slightly. "He realized he wasted too much energy fighting at a distance when Vegeta provoked him."

Raditz nodded, his eyes noting Dodoria's power level starting to decrease. It seemed that Vegeta's ploy managed to partially succeed. From his starting power level of 21,000 he was down to 20,200.

It was clear that the Saiyan physiological advantages were showing. A Saiyan's physical resilience is almost unreal, able to withstand attacks that should have crushed it's bones. They adapted well to any environ, something few races could claim. Add to that their unrelenting will and inherent stubbornness, Saiyans were truly a breed apart.

Dodoria was finding this out himself first hand.

"Rrrrraaaaagh!" He charged back at Vegeta, who slid to the side at the absolute last second. Vegeta then planted both boots at the base of his skull. Even as he staggered forward, the prince continued his assault. Vegeta grabbed his flailing wrist and twisted it. Dodoria bit down a grunt of pain, twisting his body and landing a solid straight punch to Vegeta's temple that sent the rebel flying, his body skipping like a stone.

Vegeta coughed, bringing his dirty glove to his lips. It came away with a scarlet blotch on the white material. He was thinking quickly, his eyes scanning the wasteland that they were fighting in for something he could use. He spied the white cloud like energy dispersal from the artificial moon. _Bah! I don't need help yet!_ He raged inside, knowing this was possible. He was starting to lose his own focus in his drive to prove to himself he was powerful enough to follow this path all the way to Frieza. He was aware of Dodoria stalking towards him like a predator on wounded prey. He realizes that at this moment that could be his best chance.

Dodoria menacingly advanced, gloating when he thought Vegeta could hear, "You know, I thought you were going to tear out my eyes. I thought you were gonna kill Frieza. Look at you now: a pathetic worm struggling to get away from me. I'll crush you, because you aren't worth Frieza's time, you insignificant bug. That is why Frieza pitied you enough to keep you as his pet when he destroyed your planet and wiped your race out. You were so pathetically hopeless that he couldn't even bother killing you."

Dodoria was now towering over the downed Saiyan, laughing at his laboured breathing. He never even saw it coming. His scouter beeped several times, but he reacted too slow to it's warning. The fist that struck his stomach shattered his armour and winded him was glowing with purple energy. His eyes popped, his laughter turned to gasps. As he staggered back a step, clutching his abdomen, he heard a sneering voice.

"You dropped your guard, freak!" Before he struck he had focused as much of his ki into the blow as he could, and combined with Dodoria's overconfidence the attack had been devastating. Vegeta's scouter registered Dodoria's power dropping significantly. Baiting the lard-ass had been easy enough, but following up would take a lot out of him. He shrugged to himself, drawing back his hands. His index finger pointed out like a mock gun. "Haaaaaaaahh..." His energy was less powerful than before but still enough to pierce a planet to its core. He brought his hands forward, bracing his wrist with his free hand, ignoring Kakarot's cry of warning. "GALICK GUN!"

Dodoria, thick as he was, knew that if that struck him in his current state he couldn't block it. He leapt into the air just as Vegeta fired his signature attack. The energy wave flashed less than an inch beneath him. He grimaced as he landed less than gracefully on his smarting stomach. The Saiyan Prince looked on in disbelief. He had put too much into that attack to mount any sort of damaging offence. He watched the pink man gain his feet and saw that he had at least surprised the oafish fighter.

"Vegeta's lost," Kakarot said simply. He knew the second that Vegeta began charging up for his attack that it wouldn't work. He had taken just a bit too long, given his opponent much needed time to recover.

Raditz nodded grimly, his inner worry at seeing Vegeta outclassed slight in the face of what was to come. He'd come out better afterward if all went to plan. "Are you ready? You're going to need to let Nappa know it's time. I'll get Vegeta as soon as you've got that bubblegum bastard." When his brother nodded and started to turn away Raditz grabbed his arm, "You might get in trouble if you linger too long near the increased Blutz Waves from the artificial moon. Get out quick, understand?" Kakarot nodded without a word. They silently turned back to watching Vegeta's fight and wait for his signal.

"Phew, almost had me that time." Dodoria made a show of dusting himself off, his breath hanging in the air as a faint cloud. _I'd better stop playing with him now—that was too close._

Vegeta stared, wide-eyed, a moment longer. He could feel how much that attack had weakened him. He knew that in his tunnel-like focus he'd allowed too much time to pass between attacks. After all, in these battles a second was an eternity. He quickly fronted with a bluff. "Ha! I won't miss next time. Are you ready for another round then, tubby?" He beckoned with his hand, telling him in universal sign language to 'bring it!'

Dodoria smirked, reading the yellow number over Vegeta's head on his scouter's display. He had dropped to nearly 12,000. A third of his energy was gone. Even if he could burst his power higher, it wouldn't be too much now. "I'll enjoy smearing you across this frigid hellhole!" He was suddenly in front of Vegeta, who had anticipated the attack but had fatigued enough that even with his foresight the punch slipped through his guard and hammered him in the shoulder. He was lifted off the ground and spun around twice. When he was parallel to the ground Dodoria rammed his spiked head into Vegeta's gut from below, launching the bloody Saiyan high into the air.

Over the next two minutes this kept up. Any defence Vegeta mustered was crushed, any evasion countered, and any offence shrugged off. It was slow, efficient, and humiliating. Dodoria tossed him around like a ragdoll. If he wasn't punching him hard enough to shatter bone than he was stomping him into the ground or using him like a pinball. By the end of those two minutes Vegeta was hardly conscious, bleeding heavily from his mouth, the corners of his eyes, his nose, and the several deep lacerations from the ground splintering and gashing at him when he was brutally put down. His face was a mass of bruises, his jaw broken, one eye swollen nearly shut.

Dodoria, tiring now, was thoroughly enjoying himself. He'd wanted to take Vegeta down a couple pegs for ages. The haughty little bastard looked better this way in his opinion. Vegeta fired a weak ki blast, but it went so wide and Vegeta wobbled so severely afterward that he figured it was just a sign of how badly he'd been pummelled. "I'm over here, moron. Can't see so well anymore Vegeta? It's ok, I'll make sure you see this one, since it'll be the last thing you ever see!" He laughed, not noticing one of the two remaining Saiyans vanishing.

Raditz and Kakarot both reacted instantly when Vegeta fired his attack in their direction. Saiyan pride and honour had warred within them both, letting Vegeta fight his own battles fought with the desire to protect one of their own. The footage of Bardock facing down hordes of Frieza's men and the tyrant himself had affected them both. However they set those feelings aside to do as they were ordered. Kakarot teleported to Nappa, who was partially transformed already, his massive muscles and large frame expanding rapidly. "It's party time, Nappa!" He yelled cheerfully at the half-man, half-great ape. Nappa snorted in amusement.

Raditz had shot forward as fast as he could. It looked like Dodoria was oblivious to his charge. The henchman was getting ready to deal the Saiyan Prince a deathblow. _Damnit Kakarot, hurry up! _And then it happened: a flash of spiky black hair behind Dodoria, then both he and Kakarot disappeared. Vegeta collapsed to his knees, breathing in pants. Raditz's scouter was showing a red flashing triangle, indicating Vegeta was in mortal danger. He placed Vegeta's arm over his shoulder before floating up into the air with his wounded ally, taking great care. "I'll get you back to the pod—don't you go dying on me!"

Kakarot and Dodoria appeared before a fully transformed Nappa. Before Dodoria could react the teen teleported himself to the edge of the false moon's reach. He grinned broadly as he watched the hulking Oozaru bear down on the now quivering pink fighter. _This is gonna be good._

"What the…? Where am I? Where's Vegeta? What's going..." He was silenced as his scouter went off in an alarming fashion. He finally took in the massive ape; it's mass and power piercing his confusion. He was suddenly filled with terror at the reading he was getting from Nappa. He was almost wishing he had gotten here before the Ape had finished, then his scouter would've overloaded. Since Nappa wasn't gaining strength it was able to measure his full power at 70,000 units. Dodoria trembled, his muscles frozen at the horrifying sight of something stronger than he was that wanted him dead. _At least if he's big like this he should be slower…maybe I can head back to my ship before he can catch me!_ Dodoria thought desperately.

He thought wrong. The second he darted back a giant fist slammed the ground in front him. "**Going somewhere?**" Nappa's voice had become more guttural and boomed across the chilly wastes. Dodoria shot back, narrowly dodging the second giant fist. He was getting worried now, Nappa seemed faster if anything.

Dodoria took to the air, trying to find a weakness to exploit. He dropped a few feet to dodge a massive swipe of Nappa's paw-like hand. He failed to dodge the follow up backhanded strike that sent him crashing to the side of a rock formation. By the time he had shaken himself aware a massive yellow beam of energy was halfway to him. He wrenched himself loose and shot for sky, hoping the explosion would conceal his escape. The next thing he saw a mass of brown before he felt incredible pain. Nappa had hit him so hard he'd blacked out until the impact with the ground forced him awake. So immersed in his fog of pain that even as he stood he missed the enormous boot that smashed into him from behind and leaving him face down into the dirt.

Nappa's laughter came out as a primal sound in his Oozaru state. He took a single finger and jabbed it at the downed Dodoria. The pink man rolled, but still lost his left arm in a spurt of blood and the sound of tearing flesh and bone snapping. "ARGGGGGH! OH GOD, MY ARM! YOU RIPPED OFF MY ARM!"

Nappa moved his finger away from the pink and purple smear that was all that remained of what had been a fully functioning arm seconds before. "**Stop complaining! I only took a bit off. You're lucky to be alive. Or maybe not so lucky.**" Nappa licked the purple blood off his hairy finger and growled, "**You taste disgusting Dodoria; I'll have to drink something really strong to get your flavour out of my mouth!**"

Dodoria would've paled if his pigmentation allowed for it. That monkey freak was going to _eat_ him?! "I'll kill you before you even try!" He screamed out in fear and anger. "Wait 'til Frieza gets here you ugly primate! Forget that our discussions are all transmitted back to his ship? You'll be sorry you were ever born!" He felt that was his only hope now. He just had to hold on until help arrived.

Nappa let out a chuckle that shook the ground. "**Oh how touching, I'd be more worried about myself if I were you. Frieza won't make it in time for you to be anything but a snack. And Dodoria,**" He showed his teeth, some of which were longer than Dodoria was tall, in a massive grin "**I'm pretty hungry.**" He made a sudden grab, catching the wounded Dodoria in a crushing grip. Dodoria desperately blasted at the Ape's face, trying to catch Nappa's eyes or even his mouth—a mouth that was stretched wide and drawing nearer, saliva coating the massive canines.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Dodoria roared, blasting wildly now. He didn't notice the attack that sailed up past Nappa's hairy forehead. He did notice the grip on him change to even more tight—so that his sturdy bones creaked in protest—before slackening. He fell to the hard ground with a crash, his bloody shoulder pooling his blood around him. He shakily raised his head to see Nappa shrinking rapidly, the strange light that seemed to halo him gone. Dodoria knew he might not get another chance in his current condition. He lunged for Nappa, relying on the strain of his reversed transformation to distract him. He scored a hard kick to the now regular sized and heavily breathing Saiyan that sent him careening away, kicking up dust and dirt in his wake.

Dodoria coughed, purple blood oozing from his wrecked shoulder. He could do this—Nappa only had a third of his normal power. Even as damaged as he was, he shouldn't have trouble killing the pest. He didn't care how he had ended up here, he didn't care where Vegeta or the other Saiyans were, He only cared about ending the life of the creature that had dared try and devour him.

It happened in less than a second. Nappa was stirring, looking at Dodoria who was closing in with an insanely driven expression. Nappa had just enough time to think, h_ow did he know to blow up the Artificial Moon?_ Before Kakarot appeared behind Dodoria. Nappa's eye's widened in surprise—the younger Saiyan wasn't registering on Dodoria's scouter. How it had survived he'd no time to wonder as with a single motion Kakarot reached out and snapped Dodoria's neck.

* * *

_**Q: **I don't get what that statement from Raditz meant about how he was weaker than Nappa at full power, but still stronger than Nappa._

_**A: **I...don't believe he ever said that. When did he say that?_

_**Q: **I feel Goku's Yardrat experience would have made a great prologue at 2,000 to 2,500 words with perhaps the addition of Frieza's latest actions that troubled his paternal King. At that pacing the rest of this chapter one could have been broken into two parts at about 2,500 to at most 4,000 a piece. Your story is just so good that we readers don't want to think you're rush through it to get to the good parts... because it's all so good we want to directors cut._

_**A: **Well, sorry about that. We didn't intentionally rush it; I mean, if we rushed it, this might actually update regularly, heh. But seriously, that's just the way we wrote it. I guess you're right. Maybe we'll revisit that in in a flashback someday?_


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